Friday again! How did that happen? The weeks just fly by don’t they? The busier you are the faster it all seems to race away. I really am trying to find the time to stop and smell the proverbial roses as they say. I think I’ll try to choose one activity each week that makes me SSSLLLLOOOWWW DOWN! This week I took the time to do something I have been MEANING to do for a couple of months. Photograph MY OWN CHILDREN!

You know the saying, the cobbler’s children have no shoes? The photographer’s children have no photos! I’m always so busy photographing everyone and everything else that my own kid’s get a little lost in the shuffle. Joyanna is ALREADY 10 months old! I’ve got to do this while I still can.

Oh, and Mom.. don’t look… these are your mother’s day presents! (You all KNOW she’s going to look right?) Oh it doesn’t matter anyway, I’m just sharing ONE today! I’ll share another next week when I post about improving your photos using great light.

So let’s start with some NOT SO LOVES! Get them out of the way so we can end on a high note.

I still can’t get the check from our home owners insurance cashed. It needs to be Fed Exed across the country. But FIRST we need to have a notary stamp it. Ugh! Like I have time for this nonsense!

Repairmen who act like they can’t be bothered. Look buddy, if this job is too much of a pain for you I can always take my work and my money someplace else!

When I go to two grocery stores looking for something simple and neither have what I want.

Gas prices… have you SEEN THE PRICE OF GAS LATELY?

Diaper rash, ok yes I wrote this one last week. It’s here again because our problem has not been solved.

Ok, now on the wonderful things! LOVES!

I love love LOVE my new iPhone! This thing rocks! I can text like every other person in the world now. I can answer client emails and Facebook posts on the fly.

I LOVE Instagram http://instagr.am/. It’s this fun way to share snapshots from your iPhone. I’m having a blast with it and probably getting a little carried away!

I LOVE the sessions I’ve booked this week. Yeah me! Still crossing my fingers on that wedding I wrote about last week though.

I LOVE the photos I captured of my baby girl this week. Ok so I’m biased. But I just think she is the most beautiful child!

I LOVE my son Noah who completed the entire first level in his math program this week. Go Noah!

I LOVE the couple whose wedding I am photographing tomorrow. Jeremy and Jen are the coolest. I consider it a true honor that they asked ME to document their big day. (A not so love would be the butterflies in my tummy. It is my FIRST wedding of the season. It is also the first wedding I will ever shoot where I know MANY of the guests. Please pray I don’t trip and fall and make a fool of myself. I’ll never live it down if I do!)

Oh! Almost forgot another LOVE! I LOVE the 50mm 1.4 lens I’ve been renting this week. I used it to take the photo of my daughter below. This is on my must buy soon list! It is just DELICIOUS! I’m going to rock it out at the wedding tomorrow!

Have a great weekend everyone! But before I go, here is a quick collage of some of my loves this week! You’ll see my bride and groom, my baby girl, and my iPhone with an instagram photo. Take care!

It was a wet fall day. Silly me, you’d think I’d check the weather forecast when I have an outdoor shoot scheduled. That was a bone headed move! I had no idea it was going to rain. Driving down the highway I eyed the ever graying clouds with a scornful eye. And then the rain drops started to pelt the windshield. Darn it! I should have called this poor family ahead of time and rescheduled.

I called my husband and asked him to check the radar for me. I love my husband. He is always there for me at times like this. My acting meteorologist informed me that there was a window in the rain headed straight for the park. I had a chance to get it in. Phew!

I climbed out of the car and was met with a warm welcome by my friend Caryn. She and her husband Mike eyed the sky and asked me if I really thought this was going to work out. “Well, we are here! Let’s see what we can get. If we have to I’d be happy to reschedule.” She agreed and opened her van doors to let her little crew scamper out. To my delight, the children were thrilled and full of smiles. They didn’t seem to notice the weather. The air quickly filled with squeals and laughter. I eased. I knew we could make something out of this.

I suggested we take a walk down a nearby set of stairs into a lower part of the park where the light still seemed pretty well. As we descended some I felt my head get pelted with little drops of rain. The children didn’t seem to mind! If anything, they seemed to enjoy it!. My first mission was to try and get the ever elusive sibling shot. You know, the one with all three, smiling, LOOKING AT THE CAMERA! Sarah, Elizabeth, and Joshua range in age from not quite two all the way to 6. What a challenge. But they made it easy! They were delightful and eager to do as I asked. So mission 1, accomplished.

And then the rain began to really fall! Oh dear! With squeals and laughter, we ran to take shelter under a nearby overhang. I snapped a few more as we waited to see what the weather held for us next. I am forever grateful to Caryn and Mike. Their easy going, laid back attitude completely rubbed off on the children. They decided to have fun with it and the children took that cue and they had fun too. That attitude created an atmosphere of big grins and giggles that are a breeze to photograph. All of this despite the rain. And wouldn’t you know it? The rain let up just enough for us to continue with our mission.

First up was funny man Joshua! This little boy’s expressions were absolutely darling! I wonder if he had half as much fun with me as I did with him. A total doll. A complete gentleman.

Then we had sweet Sarah. Shy and giggling. I could tell she was a bit nervous. But she was a total shining star. I was totally impressed with her through and through.

And finally, we cannot forget Elizabeth! She is the big sister and she shines in her role. On this day she was sporting a new gappy grin and a bit of concern about a little bandage on her finger. I had so fun much chatting with her. What a little lady.

Would you believe we completed this session in about 45 minutes? That has to be a record! 3 small children in 45 minutes! With more than a couple of breaks to dodge the rain drops to boot! WOW! That’s just a testament to what a family they are.

Thank you so much Elizabeth, Sarah, and Joshua! You three make an awesome team! Thank you for making ME look so good! I truly look forward to next time!

Would you just look at these two adorable little boys? Their eyes are just absolutely amazing! They just sparkle and radiate! What a fun session this was! We arrived at Hubbard park on a clear crisp beautiful autumn day. The trees were absolutely at their peak of color. But these two little boys stole the show. We ran and we laughed. We climbed and yes, we even splashed in a few puddles. All in the name of good fun! It is sessions like these that make this job the best in world. Thank you so much Kerri! Your boys were just love and I was privileged to photograph them!